From Minnie's Ditch To John's Ditching

Main menu

Monthly Archives: October 2005

Randy Lee Snyder, 54, was arrested on suspicion of probation violation as well as possession of obscene matter depicting minors in the act of sexual conduct; distribution of obscene matter to persons under the age of 18; and distribution of obscene matter to persons 18 years of age and older, Monterey Police Lt. Phil Penko said.

An employee at the Monterey Senior Center at 280 Dickman Ave. called police Friday at 9:15 a.m. to report seeing images of naked young girls on a monitor Snyder was using Thursday, Penko said. The employee said Snyder quickly clicked off the image when he noticed the employee.

“Clearly, the pictures were of girls under the age of 18,” said Penko. “They were between 10 years and 13 years of age, engaged in various acts of intercourse.”

Police discovered that Snyder had logged onto several child pornography sites, said Penko.

On Sunday, he was transferred to Monterey County Jail, where he will be held until a decision is made whether he will be returned to Santa Clara County or kept in Monterey County to face new charges.

In 2002, San Jose police arrested Snyder for using the Internet to solicit sex from what he thought was a 12-year-old girl. He was actually communication with a detective posing as the girl.

He was arrested at a San Jose park after approaching the female officer posing as the girl.

Police searched Snyder’s home and found evidence that he had intended to have sex with the girl. Snyder was then living in Pacific Grove.

The long-silent foghorn at Point Pinos Lighthouse in Pacific Grove has become a coastal eyesore.

The structure consists of a concave wall on the landward side of Ocean View Boulevard near Asilomar Avenue and once was used as a sound reflector to bounce the foghorn’s deep notes out to sea during the decades of its operation.

The Coast Guard, which operated the lighthouse and foghorn, no longer depends on such things as navigational aides because global positioning devices and radar have made them obsolete.

Now the foghorn sound wall serves as a perch for seagulls and pelicans, who leave evidence of their visits behind.

My guess is it will be torn down, as the property (along with the lighthouse) has been handed over to the city. I remember being parked in a turnout with a young lady (we were watching the submarine races) and being blasted by the two burst wail.